Locks have come off the Village apartment windows for what a memo from the Office of Residence Life is calling a “trial period of the spring semester.”
The windows were locked as part of a series of precautions against humidity, and by relation mold, which have taken place over the past several summers.
“There were periods of time when the temperature control wasn’t very controlled,” quipped Anna Stabile ’07.
The student response to the locked windows was an unpopular one due to questions about personal comfort and safety.
“There were too many health issues. If perfume was sprayed in the room, especially because I’m an asthmatic, you can’t breathe and you can’t ventilate the room at all,” said Jessica Bromberg ’08. “It was just too frustrating.”
The removal of the locks is the first official response to student complaints, though students have been known to take things into their own hands.
“It was kind of rough [when the windows were locked], but with the right tools, you could get it open,” said Mike Talmadge ’07.
Fire safety became another concern for students since notices in the apartments read, “If your door is too hot to touch, do not try to open it. Wipe cloth around crack and remain in room. Open window wide enough to attract attention.”
But the Office of Residence Life said it was trying to fight a very different danger: mold.
Gary Stephenson, the residence life director of housing operations, elaborated: “They [building inspectors] did an assessment and an evaluation of the existing HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) equipment, and one of the things they discovered that they needed to do was put a device in that could move more air and have the ability to dry the air. The air conditioning equipment in the [apartment] rooms wasn’t equipped to do that.”
He added that fire safety was another major concern.
“Meetings were held with the fire marshals,” he said. “The information that we got back was that if we wanted to lock the windows, if we needed to lock the windows to keep the building’s environment stable, then we could lock the windows. It was not in violation of any existing codes.”
But in a phone interview, Orange town Fire Marshall Tim Smith gave a second opinion.
“I would be concerned,” he said. “Fires happen, and they happen fast. People become very disoriented and very unfamiliar with their own surroundings because of smoke. What we think of something as simple as unlocking a window or a door becomes nearly impossible for a victim in a fire.”
Smith added: “We see it time and time again when people can’t unlock their own doors or get out of their own house. They become overwhelmed with smoke or toxic gas, and next thing you know, they’re a victim.”
Smith said that he could not evaluate any conditions without personally reviewing the environment and that it is unlikely that the Office of Residence Life acted out of turn.
“Locked windows and doors, they have their place,” he said.
The new HVAC system can maintain room climates, prevent mold growth and is flexible enough to allow Village residents to open their windows.
And apartment residents including Bromberg are happier.
“It’s greatly appreciated,” she said. “There’s much less tension between my roommates and I now. I feel a lot safer.”
Leave a Reply